Gold prices rose on Tuesday to a six-week high ahead of Christmas holidays, as the precious metal benefited from weak economic data from the United States and concerns over a temporary trade agreement between the United States and China.

As of 08:15 GMT, spot gold hovered around $1,495.35 an ounce, where the precious metal hit the highest level today at $1,495.40.  

The precious metal is heading towards its best annual performance since 2010, up 16 percent due to the 17-month trade dispute that has disrupted global financial markets.

Data released on Monday showed an unexpected drop in U.S. durable goods orders by 2 percent in November, the biggest fall since May, signifying the manufacturing sector remained weak last month.

Adding to concerns is that Canada's economy contracted lower than expected by 0.1 percent in October, marking the first monthly decline since February, partly due to a U.S. auto strike that adversely affected manufacturing.

On the trade front, investors are awaiting further developments on the phase one agreement between the world's two largest economies.

Even as Beijing and Washington took steps to defuse their conflict, they differ on a range of issues, including anti-government protests in Hong Kong.

As for other precious metals, silver rose 1.02 percent to $17.67 an ounce, after reaching its highest level since November 7 at $17.64 earlier in the session.

Palladium slumped by 0.16 percent to trade at $1,846.60 an ounce, while platinum rose by 0.22 percent at $940.45.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the U.S. currency against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.08 percent at 97.30.